The ‘Go-To’ Person for Getting Involved | Five Questions with Julie McQuade, Fayetteville’s community outreach coordinator

Julie McQuade, left, is recognized as Arkansas 2010 Volunteer Coordinator of the Year.

You will probably meet Julie McQuade the first time you volunteer or even attend an event related to the City of Fayetteville.

She’s tireless in her attendance and promotion of city events. In her role as the city’s community outreach coordinator, she’s on the front lines between the public and city government, purposely blurring the lines between the two.

Julie also coordinates the 12 groups, sometimes referred to as “tribes,” which emerged from the Fayetteville Forward process in Spring 2009. She uses a light touch to guide this small army of volunteers who work to find innovative ways to make the city better.

In May, she was recognized as Arkansas’ 2010 Volunteer Coordinator of the Year by the Arkansas Volunteer Coordinator Association.

It was a well-deserved honor.

We asked her a few questions recently about her evolving role with the city and how she measures success.

What is a Community Outreach Coordinator?

A Community Outreach Coordinator usually has a wide variety of responsibilities because of ever-changing community needs. Community outreach is essentially about communication, public education, and making connections in order to address the needs of the community. Community outreach from a city government perspective frequently focuses on neighborhoods, citizen participation, and volunteerism.

Of course one person cannot possibly address all the needs of a community so my position was developed to facilitate the most action or outreach possible without adding additional expense to city taxpayers by combining existing communication and outreach efforts with additional emphasis on three primary community sectors; the neighborhoods, volunteer groups, and Fayetteville Forward; to be coordinated by one staff person, me.

Even though the job title and description of Community Outreach Coordinator were new to the City Administration, the role itself really wasn’t new. I had previously been the Neighborhood Coordinator and that position’s responsibilities were expanded to include the volunteer program which includes Fayetteville Forward. The position was then moved into the Communication and Volunteer Services Department where I work for and with Communication Director, Lindsley Smith, and The Government Channel Manager, Fritz Gisler. That was a logical way to expand services without expanding the budget.

My responsibilities as Community Outreach Coordinator vary every day; from communicating information to recruiting volunteers, and from meeting with Fayetteville Forward groups to assisting neighborhoods with an ongoing issue.

I assist the Communication Director in communicating information to the public through neighborhood group listservs and various other media, such as the website subscription service, Facebook and Twitter, and I am the City Newsletter Editor. I also serve as one point of contact for the public when needing assistance or information, like many other dedicated city staff. If someone doesn’t know where to get the information they need, I try to help anyway I can. I don’t know the answers, but I usually know who does.

I have been developing the city’s volunteer program for the past year. Some city programs already have tremendously successful volunteer components, like Parks & Recreation and Animal Services. I am working to expand the use of volunteers to other city programs. Mayor Jordan understands that the value of volunteer involvement is priceless. Although there is data that can estimate the dollar value of volunteer labor, I am not aware of anyway to calculate the other benefits to the volunteer or the community when someone gets involved to make their city better for themselves and others. Fayetteville Forward is one of these volunteer program efforts.

Other things I am involved in as Community Outreach Coordinator include ongoing projects like the With a Can, We Can Food Drive, the Good Neighbor Program, Make a Difference Day, and various Fayetteville Forward Action group initiatives.

The city’s website was renovated earlier this year. What guided that facelift?

The City website was renovated as a result of public and staff feedback and recommendations made from the Mayor’s Transition Team Communication Group. Many comments were about the site needing a fresh, professional appearance and about making the site more user-friendly. We also added more items that could help drive economic development and increase tourism through the videos and picture gallery. The goal of the new website was to be more of a resource for those in Fayetteville and outside our area. I think we are making progress.

Can we expect more changes to come either to the website or in other city efforts?

Although I do not make these decisions, I believe that we probably will continue to see changes to the website to increase usability and appeal. There is a real focus on efficiency through technology and public involvement so I think as these issues are identified and as the City is able, changes will continue to occur.

How do you measure success with the Fayetteville Forward Initiative?

I believe Fayetteville Forward has already been a success by simply allowing the public to get involved in making things happen that they are passionate about. It hasn’t been about the public telling the city what they want to happen and then sitting back and waiting for it to happen. The public have been given an opportunity to do something.

I’ve heard people say that they can’t see any of the success of Fayetteville Forward, but I would tell those people to ask the Action Group members what has happened as a result of Fayetteville Forward. There are many direct examples of Fayetteville Forward, like the Creative Economy Action Group’s Gallery Guide, but there are even more indirect results.

In each action group, connections are being made and discussions are happening that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

There was a discussion and connections made in the Local Food Action Group that resulted in a program where local farmers sell produce to local restaurants and local chefs create a “Local Special”. This idea had been discussed by various people and organizations but until they were all sitting in the same room, nothing had happened.

Many of the groups have similar stories.

But beyond what is happening in the Action Groups, the community has seen how our efforts are much more successful and our goals much more achievable if we work together. Businesses and organizations and volunteers are working together for a common goal, rather than competing for credit and resources. We’ve learned to leverage existing resources for the community good. Our community has nearly all the resources and expertise we need to make things better for all and Fayetteville Forward has created a mechanism for leveraging our resources to meet our unique needs and keep our community unique, rather than trying to implement something created for a different community.

You applied for a grant earlier this year that would have documented much of Fayetteville culture. Can you tell us about that project and what you plan to do with the concept now?

We applied for a project that would identify our unique culture, map it, and provide a guide for enhancing and capitalizing on that culture. The project was developed by a team of interested groups, including the Creative Economy Action Group. We had many groups interested in being involved in the project and that still see the value of such a project.

This Fayetteville culture project had several pieces that could be completed separately and then combined at various stages to provide a similar result. I still hope that I will be able to enlist groups, organizations, or individuals that will take on one of the pieces. And although it will take much longer than initially planned, the project could still be completed.

[Disclosure: I'm a volunteer member of the Fayetteville Forward Creative Economy Action Group and met Julie through that group.]

Christopher Spencer

Christopher Spencer, 36, is the publisher and owner of Ozarks Unbound and the food news site, The Fayetteville Food File. He is the chair of the Fayetteville Creative Economy Action Group and the social media chair of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He's also the founder of WordCamp Fayetteville. You can always contact him at cspencer@ozarksunbound.com

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